Culture & History

Essays and conversations on the stories, traditions, and histories embedded in America's public lands — and the communities shaped by our shared landscapes.

Public Land Reform in the New Gilded Age

In looking towards a new era of public land management, we should focus on the root causes of our current problems, which have been fueled by corporate power, rather than compromise our foundational conservation laws yet again.

By Martin Nie

/ 15 Apr 2026

Public Land Reform in the New Gilded Age

Standing for What We Stand On

A call to embrace systems thinking and diversity in land management

By Luis Villa

/ 9 Feb 2026

American Exceptionalism and Our Public Lands: The Case for a New Public Lands Law Review Commission

Now is the time for Congress to form a bipartisan commission to rethink and renew the laws, policies, and agencies governing America’s public lands.

By Andrew Mergen

/ 9 Feb 2026

American Exceptionalism and Our Public Lands: The Case for a New Public Lands Law Review Commission

Fixing One Byzantine Process Would Return Reservation Lands to Tribes and Improve Landscape Health

A law from 1887 broke up lands within Indian reservations, creating a “checkerboard” pattern and making it very difficult for Tribes to manage their lands. There is a fix for this.

By Natalie Landreth

/ 9 Feb 2026

Fixing One Byzantine Process Would Return Reservation Lands to Tribes and Improve Landscape Health